RULE OF THE THIRDS

The "Rule of the Thirds" is actually
nothing else than a simplification of the "Golden Mean". The basic philosophy
behind it is to avoid a symmetric composition which is usually pretty boring
because the view is centered. The connection to the "Golden Mean"
are the 4 possible crossings of the dividing lines (see the examples in
illustration C1 and C2).
To counteract symmetry the "Rule of
the Thirds" can follow two concepts:

First we can divide the image into two
distinctive areas which cover 1:3 and 2:3 of the size of the picture.

Illustration C1

The second possible application is directly
based on the crossing points of the Golden Mean. e.g Let's assume that
we a landscape that is pretty charming but lacks a major feature or interesting
geometric structure. The resulting image is a boring picture of an empty
landscape. So what can we do here. Try to find an object which provides
a contrast to the otherwise "monotonous" surrounding and place it at one
of these crossing points. This object is an anchor for the first
look and invites to a further observation of the scene.